UN: The UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, has described the Bush administration's decision to speed up a handover of power to Iraqis as a positive step.
Mr Annan had challenged the US last month by outlining a rival blueprint that would transfer sovereignty to Iraqis within three months, similar to one the UN helped institute in Afghanistan.
In his first comments on the apparent US change of position, Mr Annan told a news conference yesterday: "I know that the US authorities are looking at the possibility of accelerating the transfer to the Iraqis. The transfer of power to the Iraqis has always been my position. This is a positive development."
Mr Annan spoke shortly before the opening of the annual Ibero-American summit of 21 nations at the end of his 10-day visit to Chile, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia.
Mr Paul Bremer, the top US civilian administrator in Iraq, is returning to Baghdad from Washington with new proposals. He is expected to speed up the writing of a constitution and elections so Iraqis can take power earlier than anticipated, perhaps by next summer. The US-appointed governing council is required to give a schedule on this procedure to the UN Security Council on December 15th.
Mr Annan said it was time for everyone to work together to stabilise Iraq, but did not say when or if the United Nations, which withdrew its foreign staff from Baghdad, would participate in the political process there.
"I think we need an international community that comes together working with the Iraqi people and their neighbours to stabilise Iraq. It is essential that we do that because a chaotic Iraq will not be in anyone's interest."
Many Security Council members, led by France, want a stronger UN role in the Iraqi transition process. France had asked for a quicker transfer of power to the Iraqis, a position Mr Annan later adopted.
The French Foreign Minister, Mr Dominique de Villepin, said: "How many deaths does it take to understand it is essential to change the approach?" - (Reuters)